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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Trudging a happy road...

Well, I have an interesting problem I'm working through right now. I need to plan what I'm going to do for the rest of my life or at least the foreseeable future. It's weird to be starting over as it were at 47 years of age but in this particular case, it's a good problem to have.

I almost hate to mention this but I just recently retired. It really wasn't my choice and initially I was not thrilled about it but life goes on so I got on with it. I know there are a ton of things I'd like to do and doing more reading, traveling and volunteering are all definately part of the retirement plan. Problem is I am already busier now that I "officially" don't work then I was before. Finding time to fit in other stuff is already a challenge but hell, that's what retirements all about, eh? It's cool because there is just so much cool stuff out there to do and after spending the last 30 years with the 'ole nose to the grindstone, it feels good to do work I enjoy so I'm sure I'll be able to figure this out....

I have given some thought to going back to college but frankly I've always found history teachers/profs a wee bit boring since I often know as much and often more then they do on any given subject. Plus I'd rather trudge a muddy battlefield in torrential rain then sit in a classroom on my ass any day!

I have a buddy who has led tours of Ypres and the Somme Battlefields of the Great War (yea he is a Brit) for many years and I'm thinking that sounds like a good way to spend some of my free time. I think he already senses I would like to tag along this summer or maybe next if my beat up old buddy allows it. I may have to just do the driving, mostly...

Seeing those hundreds of Great War French, British and German cemeteries in N France and Belgium, some holding over 13,000 graves each just absolutely humbles me every time I've seem them. I've never seen so many cemeteries in my life...just unreal. The American WWII Cemetery at Omaha Beach and Great War Cemetery at the Argonne are just as awe inspiring as well.

I have a sneaking suspicion that between trudging those fields in Europe and continuing to cover all the Civil War battlefields with my son Ian will keep me going for a long time to come...